Are you
overscheduled?
If so, summer is the ideal time to wind down and slow your pace a
bit. Otherwise, when life gets busy, you may squeeze in so much that
you sacrifice your own well-being. And that’s when health problems
and stress can arise. How do you know if you’re overtaxed? “If your
mind is spinning like a hamster wheel at bedtime, your schedule is
out of control,” says Marcia Ramsland, author of Simplify Your Time
(W Publishing, 2006). Here are her suggestions to make the most of
your time.
Stick to six “to-dos.” “When
we write a to-do list, we tend to include everything we haven’t done in
the last month, plus everything we
want to do in the next three years,”
Ramsland says. Keep yourself guilt
free by creating a manageable to-do
list (try six items) and relegating
everything else to an ongoing project list. You’ll still remember to clean
the garage—but you won’t feel bad
for not getting to it today.
Take a break. Treat yourself to
a healthy, leisurely lunch or a midday workout as a reward for your
hard work. Paradoxically, it will actually make you more productive.
“Exercise is one of the best ways to
relieve tension and refocus,” says
Ramsland. “Then you’ll be able to
come back and do the hard task.”
Rethink your routine. For
the next week, pay attention to
when you’re most productive, then
tweak your schedule to take advantage of your natural ebb and flow.
If you usually have a burst of energy on Wednesday mornings,
leave your toughest tasks till then.
–Melody Warnick
Go to http://www.smuckers.com
